April 1, 2020 – Do foreigners in Croatia feel more or less safe sitting out COVID-19 here than in their home country, and what are their experiences? A new series on TCN, with Tin Bojanic from Argentina our sixth contributor.
Oxford University recently published some research on government responses to coronavirus which showed that Croatia currently has the strictest measures in the world. While inconvenient, this is a good thing in terms of reducing the spread of the virus, and I am certainly not alone in my admiration of the official Croatian handling of this crisis in recent weeks, both in terms of action and communication.
But what do other expats here think? And how does it compare with the response in their home country? Would they rather sit this one out here or there? In the first of a new series on TCN, we will be featuring expats from all over the world to see what their views are on life in corona Croatia rather than back home. Having started with an excellent contribution from Romanian Mirela Rus, American/Irishman Jason Berry in Split and Gabriela Lopez Zubiria from Mexico, Steve Gaunt in an English pub in a field in the middle of nowhere near Vinkovci, Barbara Grauning from Munich in Istria – time to go back to Split via Buenos Aires with Tin Bojanic, the popular owner of Marvlvs Library Jazz Bar.
If you would like to contribute to this series, full details are below. Now, over to Tin.
Firstly, how are you? Are you alone/with someone? Tell us a little about your situation and sanity levels.
I am like everyone I guess, wishing that this nightmare would finish as soon as possible. I am with my family and we are all good. I own a bar (Marvlvs Library Jazz Bar) in Split’s Old Town, and apart from financial losses, the big issue these days is that the City looks like it does at Christmas or New Year’s, a ghost town, and there are no police around, so crime is enjoying a big party. To protect our businesses, we arranged with other owners, to walk around town checking on our properties and trying to clean the trash a little bit from the previous evening.
Also, there is a park where I live which has people drinking all night long, fighting each other and not allowing us to sleep, and leaving big amounts of trash behind that nobody ever will come to pick up or clean.
When did you realise that corona was going to be a big issue?
I do remember the previous flu viruses when I was living in Madrid, so it is not new to me to see people with masks around town. But I realized this one was different in February at Rome airport when I went through security in one minute because it was almost empty. And I started to get worried when politicians started to talk over scientists: nothing scares people more than that.
What is your impression of the way Croatia is dealing with the crisis? How safe do you feel?
I understand that nobody was prepared for this around the world; this are times where people should understand the importance of choosing good leaders.
I follow the idea that you have to pause this horror movie so you can organize the health system for when you will have to press play again. The virus is not going to disappear, and you will have to deal with that. My main concern is that Dalmatia, in this case, cannot get through without a season, and unfortunately Croatia cannot isolate itself as it does not produce all goods needed for its people (hopefully we learn from this too).
But I feel cheated when I do my part, staying home, and only going to check on the bar for protection, and then I see all older people – who are at the biggest risk- during daylight sitting on the park in front of my house, and at night, as there are no bars, people drinking on the streets. Why I am paying taxes if bars cannot sell alcohol but stores are good for that? No controls, more trash, and beers being sold without receipts.
Now compare that to your home country and how they are handling it. What is Croatia doing better/worse?
I am from Argentina -and Croatian as well- and I am in contact with my people and very well informed about what is going on there. The quarantine is stricter there than here, but the army and security forces are doing their job. Argentina is better in that, if the government is smart enough, it can satisfy all needs and goods for its people as the country produces all, but there are many poor neighborhoods that if this virus gets in will be a total disaster.
On the other hand, in Argentina are talking about very low salaries of politicians and to deal with taxes in a circumstantial way. Here there are no clear rules of what is going to happen regarding that and that was always the main problem for business in Croatia.
It is good that here they understood that running is very important as runners are in low risk to get the virus. In some countries they did not allow it at the beginning and now they make it happen again as they have learned. The world is learning day by day.
What about official communications from the authorities, compared to your home country?
Up to now all the information that I got was by word of the mouth as on media is very confusing and they contradict themselves. To be honest, TCN was always one of my sources of news, and nowadays it has become a landmark against fake news.
In Argentina politicians are using this mess to position themselves trying to look they have an answer to everything and doing most of things wrong; but here in Croatia I think politicians would love to hide away and not face this situation.
What’s the one thing you wish you had taken with you into self-isolation?
My friends say to me that I should do the self-isolation at the bar where I have everything to survive: music, cinema, alcohol, cheeses and prosciutto…
One thing you have learned about yourself, and one thing you have learned about others during this crisis.
As a journalist I have been in conflict zones so is not the first time that I have to adapt myself to what is going on around. If I can read, I am good.
My concern is that for most people is going to be hard to be all day at home, especially in Dalmatia where people love to be on the streets. But the main thing is going to be – if quarantine is extended- that who is not going to run the risk of a virus if you are hungry or you need a job? If this goes on you will see few heroic acts and many miserable actions between people.
Not to finish on a depressing note I would like to say that we will make it through and Croatia will proclaim independence once again, this time from a miserable invisible enemy.
ABOUT MYSELF. I am a Croatian citizen and I was borne in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I am a writer and journalist and I always had businesses like restaurants, magazines, editorials… and bars. My grandmother was from Stari Grad Hvar, and years ago I came to Croatia looking for to do something here. I found the House of Marulic destroyed in the Old Town of Split and I decided to refurbished and to take care of the building. Now, to tribute the Father of Croatian Literature, I opened 6 years ago a Library Jaz Bar, where the jazz was my decision as it would not work out with only medieval music. Now Croatia is my home too.
Thanks Tin, stay safe and see you on the other side. You can follow events at his bar and join him for a drink when all this over via the official Facebook page.
You can find more foreigner corona stories in our dedicated section here.
TCN is starting a new feature series on foreign experiences of sitting out covid-19 here in croatia compared to their home country. If you would like to contribute, the questions are below. Please also include a para about yourself and where you are from, and a link to your website if you would like. Please also send 3-4 photos minimum to [email protected] Subject Corona Foreigner
If you would be interested to record a video version for our partners www.rplus.video please let us know in the email. Thanks and stay safe.
Foreigners Self-Isolating in Croatia: Do You Feel Safer Than in Your Home Country?
Firstly, how are you? Are you alone/with someone? Tell us a little about your situation and sanity levels.
What do you think about the economic measures the government is taking, are they helping your business? (PLEASE IGNORE IF THIS DOES NOT AFFECT YOU)
When did you realise that corona was going to be a big issue?
What is your impression of the way Croatia is dealing with the crisis? How safe do you feel?
Now compare that to your home country and how they are handling it. What is Croatia doing better/worse?
What about official communications from the authorities, compared to your home country?
What’s the one thing you wish you had taken with you into self-isolation.
One thing you have learned about yourself, and one thing you have learned about others during this crisis.
TCN has recently become a partner in Robert Tomic Zuber’s new R+ video channel, initially telling stories about corona experiences. You can see the first TCN contribution from this morning, my video from Jelsa talking about the realities of running a news portal in the corona era below. If you would like to also submit a video interview, please find Robert’s guidelines below
VIDEO RECORDING GUIDE
The video footage should be recorded so that the cell phone is turned horizontally (landscape mode).
There are several rules for television and video news:- length is not a virtue- a picture speaks more than a thousand words
In short, this would mean that your story should not last more than 90 seconds and that everything you say in the report should be shown by video (for example, if you talk about empty streets, we should see those empty streets, etc.).
How to do it with your cell phone? First, use a selfie camera to record yourself telling your story for about a minute and a half. Ideally, it would be taken in the exterior, except in situations where you are reporting on things in the interior (quarantine, hospital, self-isolation, etc.). Also, when shooting, move freely, make sure everything is not static.
After you have recorded your report, you should capture footage that will tell your story with a picture, such as an earlier example with empty streets.
One of the basic rules of TV journalism is that the story is told in the same way as a journalist with his text. Therefore, we ask you for additional effort. Because we work in a very specific situation, sometimes you may not be able to capture footage for each sentence of the report. In this case, record the details on the streets: people walking, the main features of the city where you live, inscriptions on the windows related to the virus, etc.
The same rules apply if you are shooting a story from your apartment, self-isolation, quarantine. We also need you to capture footage that describes your story.
When shooting frames to cover your reports, it is important that you change the angle of the shot (in other words, shoot that empty street from several angles). Also, when shooting a detail, count at least five seconds before removing the camera to another detail.
The material should be about 5 minutes long (90 seconds of your report + frames to cover your story).
After recording everything, send us to Zagreb, preferably via WeTransfer to [email protected]
